


Blood and Bone

by CalebMalpas



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Blood Magic, Breakup, Budding relationships, Cults, Eldritch, F/M, Heirs to Old Magic, Magic School, Past Torture, Trust Issues, Violent tendencies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:34:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25578130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CalebMalpas/pseuds/CalebMalpas
Summary: For years, Daniel has been a kind of fixture in Hope's life. A friend but right before her parents died, he vanished. Then at the start of sophomore year, Daniel appears in Mystic Falls and ends up a student and a changed man. Now Hope has to relearn exactly who Daniel is while teaching him how to interact with people but maybe the Salvatore School isn't the safe place it claims to be.Daniel is finally free and angry. His desire for revenge is trumped only by the need for a place to call home. Drawn to the town of Mystic Falls, he ends up in a school for the supernatural where he comes against a new kind of threat. Kids his age.
Relationships: Eventual Josie Saltzman/Other OC, Hope Mikaelson/Original Character, Penelope Park/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the story behind my two Legacies one-shots. it starts a year before the first episode of the show. Hope you all enjoy

Hope found him up in the turret. He was tucked in the far corner with a savage light burning in his eyes. Daniel, when he chose to be seen was startling handsome. Chiseled jaw, short brown hair that shone almost gold in the light, lean, wiry build, made for survival. His arms, bare since he shed his school sweater, revealed rarely an inch of unmarred skin. His scars told a story of harsh survival and his eyes held the will of a man who has fought every minute of his life.

“How was school?” She asked. Four days ago, the varsity and junior varsity football teams ambushed him in the woods. It ended about as much as Hope expected. Forty kids in the hospital with concussion, broken bones and a deep set fear of anyone with red eyes. She had arrived at the end of the beatdown. Seven seniors against one sixteen year old boy normally ends with the boy being beat to the ground but Daniel was Verrigan, an Heir to the Old Magics. His kind were the most powerful of witches and Daniel’s bloodline was the oldest among the Heirs. Violence was something he did incredibly well.

“I knew those without talent were...fickle but I expected better from those claiming to be better than their brethren.” His voice was soft, a resonate tenor with an undercurrent of power. Daniel couldn’t hide his power completely. It leaked out in his voice or his eyes, with glowed, turning their normal scarlet three shades brighter. Currently he was hiding his true voice so his magic shone in his eyes.

“No one is human here.” He looked at her like Hope was an utter idiot. His magic touched her sense, sharp and hot, like a sword left in the fire.

“I cannae speak of the Fae boy but as for every one else, including you, Daughter of Hayley, Daughter of Niklaus, we are human. For all the blessings and curses that entails.” he spoke English but Hope felt like shew as talking to someone from a bygone age. Which, given that Daniel’s bloodline started in ancient Mesopotamia and that he avoided civilization, made sense his speech was slightly different than theirs.

“Why do you say that.” Daniel raised a scarred hand and blood seeped from the tip of his middle finger to form a single drop that floated an inch from his skin. Blood Magic. The First Magic. All other magics stemmed from it. Daniel was the only one alive who could use it.

“Blood never lies. The mind changes, the bodies wither and memories fade, but blood remains constant.” His words possessed a slightly lyrical accent that added an exotic touch to his whole persona. Another touch against her sense and the blood crystallized then shattered to dust. Daniel stood up in one fluid motion. Something inside Hope stirred. Daniel moved like a predator on the hunt. Smooth and fluid.

“And vampires?” Hope asked. Daniel looked down at her, eyes glowing with ancient magic and he bared his fangs. Two on top, two on bottom, right where his canines would be. He looked like a beast in human form. Vampires and Daniel didn’t get along all that well. They didn’t know what to make of him and he tolerated him.

“I cannae fault them for a crime forced upon them. Nor can I let go of the hatred I bear for the magic that made them. It...has led to some strain.” Hope laughed. Strained wasn’t the words she’d use for it. Four days. Daniel has been here four days and he’s already desiccated two vampires but draining them of blood and broke another three.

“And the Witches?” Hope asked though she knew the answer. Daniel felt alone. Even among the witches, Daniel was alone. He was one of half a dozen male witches and the only Blood Mage among them. A Verrigan, An Heir. He was like Hope. One of a kind.

“Other than the whole of them wanting to bed me?” Hope snickered. Daniel did inspired some fantasies. He was ruggedly handsome with the scars adding to his wild man allure and his casually dismissal of just about everyone didn’t help.

“The Siphon tests my nerves while her sister has been nothing but helpful in settling in.” He was talking about the twins and he’s nailed them to a T. Lizzie has become infatuated with the Blood Mage while Josie, thanks to her sister, has the patience to help Daniel.

“Lizzie is...an acquired taste.” Daniel tilted his head slight at her before he started towards the door. Hope followed him, slightly behind him. She liked watching him move. In utter silence and the kind of fluid grace expert martial artists have. Daniel expected an attack from all angle and Hope had no doubt he would break it should it happen and go on with his day.

“You dislike her.” Daniel commented as he paused as an intersection of hallways. The light in his eyes dimmed slightly as he raised his head slightly to take a deep breath through the nose. It was something wolves do. Especially those in the Crescent Moon Pack, who were more in touch with their animal side than others. He turned right and Hope followed him down the stairs, through the foyer into the back fields.

“It is complicated.” Hope said and she could almost hear Daniel roll his eyes. They did the closest thing Daniel could get to chatting as he led her into the forest. She noted that he steered clear of the Old Mill where the witches like to hang out now that school was over for the day.

“Any particular destination in mind?” Hope asked as he continued to walk. Silence was her only answer though shortly after Daniel stopped in the middle of a small clearing. Hope knew this place. It was one of the spots where she stashes her clothes when she runs as a wolf. She wondered how Daniel knew of it. Magic punched through the clearing like silent thunder. The sheer force of it knocked Hope back a step as she raised a hand in a futile attempt to weather it. Daniel stood in the center of the invisible maelstrom. Every blade of grass stood straight up and the rocks on the ground floated at least four inches in the air.

“Daniel!” Hope called out. His magic pressed against her like an unstoppable current, swirling around her and the clearing. Stray sparks of red energy crackled and wisps of ethereal mist rose from the Blood Mage’s shoulders. There was so much. How could anyone handle this much power. It nipped at her skin and slid into her mind. Memories flashed before her eyes. Shared memories of when both Daniel and her were younger. Feelings that were not hers touched her mind than it was gone. Hope nearly collapse but Daniel caught her. She struggled to breath as he gently set her on the ground. He leaned over her, his finger ghosting over her, leaving a strange tingle wherever he touched.

The sudden absence of his magic felt suspiciously like standing up too fast and Daniel made a sound. Almost like a chuckle. She could still feel him in her mind though no longer was he in her memories. It was like he was standing next to her thoughts, simply observing as they raced through her head.

“ _It will take a while for the connection to fade, Lady Hope_.” She heard his words but saw that his mouth didn’t move. Oh joy, telepathy. A small smile tugged at the edges of his lips as Daniel stood up. Hope struggled for a moment but her healing kicked in and moments later, she was sitting up. Daniel was standing at a nearby tree, with his palm pressed flat against the bark.

“Was there a point to that?” Hope asked and once again Daniel’s voice echoed in her head. Hope decided that she didn’t like him in her head and that he should leave it immediately.

“ _Keeping my powers suppressed for too long have some...interesting consequences. If I do not...stretch it every so often, odd things happen._ ”

“Odd how?” He didn’t respond and Hope got to her feet. His magic wasn’t gone, it flowed through the clearing in a slow trickle. Suffusing the air with his presence. The grass still stood straight and the rocks still floated.

“I don’t really have the words to describe it.” Daniel said in his true voice. The Child, the Man and the Elder, all at once. His voice was pure magic and listening to it sent shivers all throughout her body. He pulled away from the tree, shaking the mist that hung from his shoulders off.

“Some warning would be nice next time.” Hope said and Daniel looked at her with that half smile of his.

“Fair enough. I apologize.” He was sincere but Hope still narrowed her eyes at him.

“What are we doing out here?”

“I,” Daniel started, “Am building a forge. I cannae speak for you nor your intentions.” Hope looked around. After confirming her suspicions that there wasn’t anything to build so said forge out of, she turned back to Daniel.

“And how do you plan on doing that?” Daniel reached back and knocked on the tree.

“I asked the forest.” Not sooner had he finished those words did the ground begin to shake beneath Hope. She jumped back as the sharp sound of Daniel laughter filled the air. The ground trembled than slowly a large rock broke through the surface. It reminded Hope of a video about chicks hatching. She looked around to find several other rocks rising in similar fashions.

“So the ‘Forest’ is alive?” Hope asked and Daniel looked at her once again like she was an idiot. He walked past her with a look and his magic shifted, following him like fabric billowing behind him. The stones rose of the ground and followed in his wake.

The next words out of Daniel’s mouth weren’t in any language Hope spoke but there was power in it. Powerful as they were ancient and as beautiful as the stars, Daniel wove magic like a painter. Each word a stroke of the brush with his magic as the color, painting a new shape into reality. The whole thing didn’t last long. A minute or two but it felt longer to Hope. When Daniel finally feel silent, the stones were arranged in a perfect circle about five feet with, fitted together so tightly that Hope doubted a piece of paper could be slid in between.

“That...was...” Hope didn’t have the words to describe what she just witnessed nor the loss of such beauty. Daniel shot a glance over his should and shrugged. He turned away from the large stone ring and suddenly Hope’s vision was full of Daniel Verrigan. Steel like flesh under taunt skin, the scent of magic, male and metal filled her nostrils and for a moment, he wasn’t even human. There was a beast like quality to his presence that had Hope’s Wolf stirring. Hope wasn’t how long they stood there, so close yet not touching. His eyes had a faint glow to them but there was something else there. Something that looked at her and bared fangs of its own in a savage threat only to be pulled back by the iron chains and stone cold discipline of Daniel’s will.

“Return to the school. What happens next would only bore you.” Before she could respond, he was gone. Vanished, taking his magic with him. Hope fought the desire to go hunt him down. If Daniel didn’t want to be found, he wouldn’t be. He could had this ability that Hope wasn’t sure if it was magic or just a skill but he could fade from all senses so completely that it was practically invisibility. It was okay. He had four classes with her tomorrow. There would be no escape for him.

“I thought only others like you could withstand your power.” Daniel sat on a high branch watching Hope as she walked away. Further down the branch another stood. Taller than the Blood Mage and built sturdier. Broad shoulders and muscles that could hold a bear.

“Hope’s bloodline is older than most. A remnant of Old Magic but not enough to qualify for the Title.” Daniel’s explained. The other man studied her shrinking form with inhuman eyes. Solid black with a ring of near white, formed by threads of ancient, hungry things.

“She feels for you.” Daniel bared his fangs and rolled his eyes. Most females reacted to him. He wasn’t sure if it was his magic, his scars or the Beast within that captivated them but overall Daniel found it annoying. He had more important concerns that the flighty crushes of young women.

“Do you plan on staying?” The man asked and Daniel reached up to touch the scar that ran from his lips to his pelvis. It was the mark of a place Daniel would rather forget. The memory of cold stone and unforgiving chains followed by an agony that had defied explanation. Daniel shook his head, freeing himself of that past.

“Aye. I’ve run long enough.” Verrigans like him were rare and they rarely stayed in one place while they were younger. Daniel has reached that age where running was more trouble than it was worth. He disliked this place but there was magic in this land. It could help him, hid him, give him time to fortify this place.

“Hm.” Was the only reply Daniel got. A being like King was rarely troubled by the mundane things in life. Daniel’s only connection to King was the Beast inside him. A burden forced upon him that drew the King from the Mists.

“This place is unsuited to by the home of a Verrigan.” King commented. Daniel smiled again. The defenses around this school were indeed laughable but Daniel was the most powerful being to walk those halls. He would make it safe. He knew hunters would come. As they always do but this time, Daniel wouldn’t fade into the background. He would meet them with Blood and Blade and they would learn. Mystic Falls was his now and Daniel rarely let go of the things that were his.

“That will change in time.” he informed King and a low sound rolled over the Blood Mage. Most would run at the sound as it signaled the presence of monster but Daniel knew the sound of King’s laughter.

“I recommend caution, Child of Shinar.” tingles shot down Daniel’s spine. Shinar was the kingdom his ancestors ruled. Along side Babylon, Shinar was the birthplace of the first truly human magic. Blood Magic. The art was directly tied to Daniel lineage and as the last of his line, Daniel was more than what his title suggested.

“Displays like today will be rare. It takes too long for the land to acclimate to me the usual way.” Daniel wouldn’t claim the land as that would trigger another magic in his blood that he had no desire to wake. Still he needed the land to align with his plans.

“Just be careful. You will never know peace if you walk this path.” This time Daniel let out a growl. He didn’t want peace. This world shattered his peace when it killed his parents and took any hope for it when it gave him this scar. No, peace was no longer an option for Daniel. If the whole of the world was aligned to force him to war than he would remind the world why it took the an army of Elder Beings to break his family.

“Well, the warning had to be given. Take care and may your Blessed Ancestors guide you.” A stray wind picked up and the Mists that brought the King to Daniel scattered. Alone with his thoughts, Daniel thought of what comes next. Hunters would come and they would die; such was one of the few constants of this world but it was what came after the Hunters that worried him. 

“By Blood and Bone.” Daniel said to himself. The future while never certain would definitely be interesting. He slid off the branch to fall to the ground. Daniel had plans and he still had so, so much homework to get done.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope helps Daniel have an important conversation as Daniel's enemies start to make their move.

Hope closed what felt like the fiftieth book she’s read today trying to find out more about Daniel’s magic but nothing. Absolutely nothing. She rubbed her neck where his teeth had rested. She would never forget the look in his eyes when she pulled him out of wherever his mind was. The abject horror and something else. Old and inhuman that lurked in his eyes and crept in on the edges. The run through the woods was supposed to help both of them but Hope is afraid she made something worse inside Daniel.

The morning hadn’t started the way she wanted to but she learned something. Daniel had changed in more ways than one. Before, whenever he came by, he was guarded but had this smile that promised both the moon and enough trouble to almost make it not worth it. Almost every summer from when she was five had Daniel in them. Running through the Bayou with him and the Pack. Doing fun, little spells with Aunt Freya. Sometimes he’d contact her while he wandered via a spell Freya taught him or in her dreams. He was always dangerous but he was always in control. Now, Hope isn’t so sure.

Something happened in the year he was gone. A lot happened. She finally saw her father only to lose him and her mother within the span of a few months; something she wasn’t sure he knew about. Hope’s mother was also Daniel’s but more in a surrogate sense. Hope wasn’t sure how Daniel would take learning Hayley was dead.

“Um...Hope, could you help me for a minute.” Hope looked up, tabling how to tell Daniel for a later date as Josie walked up to her. Hope liked this twin despite how often the two of them take shots at her. Hasn’t happened lately as Daniel put Lizzie through a wall after she caught him off guard. That was mostly Hope’s fault. She was playing with some new found tension between and her oldest friend and the blonde twin had made the mistake of not announcing herself before touching the Blood Mage.

“If Lizzie wants advice about Daniel, tell her it won’t happen.” Daniel, despite the rather violent first few weeks he’s had, has been the model student. Once the vampires learned that he leaves them alone if they leave him alone. The witches learned that Daniel valued privacy highly and Ms. Tig had a long conversation after Daniel trapped half a dozen in a nightmare for trying to spy on his past.

“No, we have Magical Chemistry together and we’re supposed to be working on a project and all he’s done was give me this paper.” Daniel’s unique life circumstances have left his education...scattered. He could read and write in English passably and his shop skills were phenomenal but that was it. He knew little about history, government, civil rights, any kind of formal magic training and social studies. In an effort to catch him up while keeping Daniel in his peer group, with the exception of Herbology, Practical Magical Application and P.E. Daniel split his time between the sophomores and the freshmen with a ton after school work and assignments.

"Let me see.” Hope took the folded paper from Josie and looked at it. Instantly pain shot through her head being both an ever present ache and a lancing pain like someone was slapping her brain around. Hope folded the paper and handed it back to Josie. She gently massaged her temples while trying to think of the spell Freya taught her on short distance communications. If she thought hard enough, Daniel might catch it but between school and whatever he was he was doing at that Forge of his, his attention was strained as it was.

“What.” His voice whispered in her eyes. Tingles shot up her spine. He wasn’t hiding his voice and the magic of it washed over her. She opened her eyes to find him standing next to him. Not physically as she could see through him but he was there in his school uniform of slacks, nice shoes, and a long sleeve button-up shirt with the school emblem on it. He looked good except for the fact that he kept rolling his shoulders back and looking like he’d rather be naked. Given that he could sheathe himself in armor made of his own blood, nudity has never really been a problem for Daniel.

“We’re supposed to be coming up with ideas for our project.” Josie said. Hope’s head ache must have been far worse than it felt because she didn’t notice Daniel wasn’t looking at her but instead at Josie. The energy produced from her obvious anxiety about talking to him must have been enough for Daniel to sense and decide to do something about.

“I wrote my thoughts down. Is there one you like or shall we brainstorm….some more.” It was the pause that told Hope he was in the middle of something. She whispered the spell and the library faded only to be replaced with the secondary gym. Daniel tore past her as some of the upperclassmen Wolves flew in random directions. For a moment it looked like he was fighting them but after a second glance, they were play a no holds barred version of dodgeball with medicine balls. He was wearing his usual sleeveless shirt and cargo pants. He must have decided to appear before Josie in his school uniform. Why, she didn’t know but Hope wondered if the reason he looked uncomfortable in the spell was because of the memory of wearing the uniform also caused him discomfort.

“You forgot to write it in English. That's why Josie is confused” Hope explained and Daniel didn’t stumble exactly but his foot slid ever so slightly, putting him off balance enough that he most likely would be able to dodge the ball flying towards his face. His eyes flashed as all the balls that had become projectiles hung motionless in the air, even the one that floated an inch from his face. There were several shouts of protest but Daniel ignored them as he walked out of the gym. Hope held the spell to watch Daniel, without looking, return the balls to their owners.

“Where did he go?” Josie asked as Hope released the magic. It would take Daniel a few minutes to navigate the school to them, longer if he decided to change into school clothes but since school was over for the day, she doubted he would. Hope started stacking her books to put them away.

She was in the middle of putting them away when she felt it. Needles of ice down her spine; her Wolf perked up. Something was here. Something dangerous and on the move. Hope turned and watched Daniel stalk into the library. The feeling followed Daniel and Hope sighed. It wasn’t the first time this has happened. Normally happens in the dead of night when he runs through the forest and gets to close to school. Something about him set off all instinctual alarms she had. Not in the he’s a creep way. Daniel was perfectly mannered until he was attacked. Plus aside from Hope, Daniel didn’t like people; they ‘annoyed’ him. He tended to avoid them whenever he had the chance.

Daniel wasn’t passive in this life. He was hunted and Daniel actively hunted those who hunted him. He had promised Dr. Saltzman he wouldn’t kill on school ground but Hope knew the Blood Mage better than anyone. There were over eight hundred acres of woods behind the school and well, Hope wasn’t sure who belonged there more; the werewolves or the Blood Mage.

“Apologies for the miscommunication, Josette.” His voice was the one he used for day to day interactions. Almost normal, a nice tenor that had this undercurrent of raw power. Combine with his strange, lyrical accent; made listening to Daniel talk an almost magical thing. Shame he didn’t do it more often.

“If you have the time, I can explain.” Hope pulled out a tome of summoned creatures from witches in the past. Why she took that particular tome was beyond her but gave her a reason to go back and listen to Daniel explain complex magical theories poorly. It was almost funny. For Daniel, magic simply was. There were no spells, rituals or channeling for Daniel. He simply bent it to his will.

“Charged air? How does that work?” Josie asked. Daniel opened his mouth, displaying almost feline fangs. Hope leaned over to watch him. Light rolled over his eyes several times and Hope almost laughed. Daniel looked at her for help but she shook her head. He got himself into this mess, he would get himself out.

“Light. Neon.” It clicked for Hope but Josie still looked lost. Mr. Gates had the freshmen in his Magical Chemistry class do a project about one could use magic to better the lives of the humans. It was a trick question as Mr. Gates likes ask them how they would integrate with humans. The downside is Daniel viewed everyone as human. For Daniel the hardest parts will be communicating with his partner and then building whatever he comes up with. Hope wasn’t absolutely sure when it started but suddenly he’d spend a lot of his free time, when he wasn’t sitting or running with her, futzing with something.

“Maybe try using smaller words.” Hope teased. Daniel gave her a sidelong glance and did something else. He bared his fangs in a quick motion and closed his mouth with a resounding click. It took Hope a solid second to realized he had just snapped his teeth at her. It wasn’t the first time Hope has seen him do this but it was the first time he’s done it to her. It was something he did mostly to the wolves or Keelin when they annoy him. He did it once to Hayley and Hope did exactly the same thing her mother did. She reached out with her right hand and flicked Daniel’s nose.

He reared back like a chastised cat and looked at her. Josie giggled but Daniel’s focus was on her. His eyes burned as he struggled to deal with just happened. Hope cracked a grin and he growled at her. It wasn’t quite as menacing as it could have been. No it was almost...playful. Hope rolled her eyes and turned to Josie.

“Do you know how Neon lights work?” Hope asked the Siphon and Josie nodded, “What he’s trying to say is what if there was a way to keep the neon charged so it produces light continuously.”

“We’d have to continuously run electricity through it then.” Daniel shook his head and tapped the table. Both women turned to look at him. Spots of red formed on his skin, darkened, bubbled over then faded as several drops of blood rose into the air.

“Use the Elements themselves to hold the charge.” the droplets spun around, colliding and reforming into a kind of rectangular frame. Oddly familiar but Hope couldn’t place it. Josie looked decidedly uncomfortable but that was the standard reaction to Daniel using blood magic. The blood solidified and Hope leaned closer. Immediate wished she hadn’t as the small runes on the blood sent pain shooting through her head.

“That is disturbing.” Josie commented and Daniel shrugged. He reached over, gently placed his fingers on Hope’s hand. As soon as she felt the contact, the pain lessened. Hope looked at Daniel. He wasn’t looking at her as he was trying to explain his thoughts to Josie. The hard edges of his body had relaxed a little. Hope doubted Daniel would ever lose that air of vigilance but at this moment, Daniel almost looked like normal kid.

Taking pity on the poor man, Hope helped translate for him and together, the three of them came up with a suitable project for them. Took them hours but the entire time, Daniel’s fingers laid gently on her hand, spread a warm feeling through her. She’d never admit it to anyone but Hope liked the feeling of his skin on her.

It was late in the evening as the Hunter enjoyed a nice drink at the local restaurant. The man watched the mundane passing of everyday life. This town, Mystic Falls, has been on the radar of his Order ever since a family of witches got terribly close to resurrecting an ancient and dangerous magic. The Order has watched the Mikaelsons but over the past millennium, they’ve been more an annoyance than a danger. The resurfacing of Freya and Dahlia had caused some concern but since one was a mother now and the other dead, the Order has demoted the Mikaelson clan to occasional check ups.

Until Hayley Marshal’s death. When she died it came to light that Hayley has been protecting the original reason the Order exists. A living Blood Mage, a direct descendant of the Kings and Queens of Shinar. That made this child a Verrigan. An Heir to the Old Magics. All Verrigans were closely watched and when they got out of hand, The Order culled them but this one. Sixteen years without supervision. They had heard rumors of an unknown Verrigan but the Order didn’t commit many resources to confirming these rumors. Now it seemed they had been mistaken.

Freya Mikaelson and her wife were to risky as sources of information as were Davina and Kol Mikaelson. They had tried Rebekah Mikaelson only to anger Marcel. All that was left was Hope Andrea Mikaelson. A witch powerful enough to become a Verranon, An Heir to New magic. Beings almost as dangerous as Verrigans but New Magic had more rules to it, more limitations. The Order could manipulate them easier. Plus with the Wolf King raising a ruckus across the ocean the Order wanted to find this Blood Mage before the Wolf King did.

“Lovely place, is it not?” A voice cut through the Hunter’s thoughts and he startled to find a young man sitting at his table, sipping some water. The Hunter has been apart of the Order since birth. he’s fought Verrigans, Varranons and other creatures deemed to dangerous for existence. Whatever this was sent chills down his back. To sneak up on a Hunter, a human born and bred through natural and magical means to be the perfect hunter of the supernatural, was a fact to be weary off.

“A quaint town.” the Hunter agreed. The creature opened its eyes and the Hunter fought to keep the surprise off his face. Scarlet irises studied him with a detached disinterest. The Hunter felt a slight tingle as a faint magic washed over him. In a startling revaluation, the Hunter saw the illusion that hid the true form of this creature dissolve. Still in human form but covered in horrendous scars.

“Very little reason for the Order to come here.” The Hunter leaned forward. Dark ink surfacing on his skin, reacting to the danger. This was not the place to get into a fight but he wasn’t sure this creature would let him decide.

“It seems we had every reason.” the creature gave him a toothy smile and displayed panther fangs at him. The Hunter would die and he knew this. The Hunter has not survived this long because he was an idiot. The real question was how quickly was he burning through his remaining time?

“Aye. Choosing this town was a risk but I had hoped the magic here would help hide me.” the creature sounded resigned, like he knew this was going to happen. Than he heaved a sigh and smiled a fake smile, “Such is the spice of life is it not, Fanatic?”

“We are not fanatics.” the creature’s smile gained a dangerous edge to it as those eyes started to glow faintly. The Hunter sighed. A Verrigan. Verrigans can’t completely hide their magic. Not for long periods of time anyway. The ink crawled its way up the Hunters arms, over his neck before settling, protecting vital areas.

“We’ll gloss over the fact that you hunt children, born and unborn, simply for the sin of being their parent’s child and go right into the fact that they indoctrinate children from birth. You’ve had your marks for a long time. I’d wager you start training around five, they started sending you out on Hunts when you were ten. You’ve been doing this for over fifteen years. Give or take.” the Hunter wasn’t sure what was more shocking. The knowledge of how the Order works or the accuracy of its statement.

“You seemed unusually well informed.” The Hunter commented and the creature took another sip of its water. In his life, the Hunter has never met someone outside the Order that knows so much about it. It meant they either had a leak or this creature was far better at disguising itself than it seems.

“Your Order is slow to understand and bold in their arrogance but I do not blame them. They have succeeded against my family for over six thousand years. Unfortunately, I am more than just my blood.” A Blood Mage. The Blood Mage. A slow fear crawled down the Hunter’s spine. It took a veritable army to take one down. The last time someone took down a Blood Mage it had been luck. Circumstance had already weakened them to the point where the only thing the Hunter had to do was slid in the knife.

“You’re going to kill me.” the Hunter stated and the devilish smile he got as a response turned his blood to ice.

“Aye though I’m bound by a promise so I can’t tear your blood out like I want to but this is entertaining enough.” The Hunter and the Blood Mage gave up the pretense of civil conversation.

“Killing me will draw the full of the Order.” the Hunter leaned forward, sliding a needle into the palm of his hand while the other tapped the table. The Blood Mage leaned back and laughed, exposing his throat. It was a trick. He was baiting the Hunter.

“You’re Order has been hunting me since I was five. Whether they’ve know who I was is irrelevant. I will run no longer.” the boy’s voice changed. It sharped like a blade being drawn and shared the same emotional spectrum as one, “Your Order has denied me family, peace and safety. In return, before I reduce you all to ashes I will do to you what you’ve done to us.”

“Your temples are not safe, your businesses are not safe. The best of you will witness your homes burn, your spouses die and your children scream. Go back to your Order. Tell them, I am coming. That they are the architects of their own demise and like them, I offer no quarter.”

The Hunter watched the Blood Mage rise from his seat. Gone was the boy and in his place stood someone without mercy, compassion or anything else one might look for in their last moments. The Blood Mage walked away, forcing the Hunter to twist in his seat to keep his eyes on him. Not that it did him much good. Some unknowing bystander blocked him from view for half a second but the Verrigan was gone.

Fighting the rising urge to race back to his motel room and hunt that thing down, The Hunter finished his drink and hailed down a waiter. Once his drink was paid, he started out of town. The Hunter knew his car, room and anything in it was worthless. He had to contact the Elders and inform the council. A Blood Mage in Mystic Falls; one with a vendetta against the Order. This wasn’t going to end well.

A faint sound caught the Hunter’s attention and he spun around the edges of his marks glowing faintly like a light hidden behind a door. The streets were empty and not a single light was on. Mystic Falls was a small town but it was not small enough to leave its streets in utter darkness.

“Don’t you know, it’s dangerous to walk alone in the dark.” The Hunter made a split second decision. Forcing his marks down just as the lights came on; bathing the streets in artificial light, he turned to find a young woman, pale with blue eyes and blonde hair that fell past her shoulder. She was slender, wearing a smart blouse and some business class pants.

“Ma’am, you need to get off the streets.” the sound reached his ears again and the Hunter turned towards the misty woods. Something was there; either the Blood Mage or a creature he summoned. He had to get the girl off the streets. If the Hunter lets the fight spill out into town, the casualties would skyrocket.

“Because of him?” The Hunter shot a look towards her and saw she was back towards the forest. The Hunter recognized his mistake the instant before a weight slammed into his chest. The last thing he saw before he died was solid black eyes with a ring of red glaring down at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, hope you enjoy.


	3. Chapter three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel sets his plan into motion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next part. Hope you all enjoy.

“Thank you, Stormbringer.” Daniel said as he stood up. The Hunter lay dead at his feet, head twisted unnaturally. He turned to face the other Verrigan and watched as the illusion around shattered like dust on the wind. Her height, her build nor her facial features changed but her hair turned a silver color with a very faint blue tint to it. Her eyes turned the most brilliant of blue, like aquamarines and within them was the full fury of a summer storm.  
“I am surprised, Child of Shinar, that you called on me instead of your King or Wolf.” Her voice was low and smooth. She didn’t look like the Queen of Storms nor like she was at all proficient with a saber and dagger combo. King...Daniel did not want King anywhere near this school. They were unprepared to learn the existence of things that they believe to be myth. Daniel himself has already shook the school. He wasn’t sure the poor headmaster could take more oddities in his life. As for Wolf.  
“Your mate would have drawn the attention of the Sentinels. I’m not ready yet.” Sentinels were the best Hunters the Order had. Daniel had encountered them before when he was very young and he barely survived. Sirin, the Stormbringer, smiled at him and while it lacked the almost cruel tint it usually had, it was still a sight Daniel didn’t want to see. He much preferred her mate. Wolf was of the Ulfhednar, one of the few magics that were older than Daniel’s. Sirin was another one but Daniel understood Wolf. Sirin just scared him.  
“Yes, I felt it on my way in. You want to strip them of their power before they fight you.” Daniel nodded. He bent down and tapped the chest of the corpse. What made Hunter’s so deadly against Daniel and his ancestors were the marks. The dark ink surfaced on the man’s skin and blood sheathed Daniel’s hand in a gauntlet. He punched through the dead man’s chest and began purifying the tainted blood.  
“With no magic who would win.” Sirin asked. Daniel looked at the Stormbringer and pondered her question. No one among the living could match his skill with a blade but his memories of the Sentinels was distorted by the pain they caused.  
“One on one. Most likely me. My desire to live exceeds their loyalty to their Order.” Daniel knew that Sirin, Wolf and King all possessed the kind of skill with a blade that rivaled his own. He’d already knew Wolf, while dangerous, when it came to pure skill, Daniel was superior but only just. Daniel didn’t want to even try with King and he didn’t trust Sirin enough to even consider the possibility.  
“Daniel,” When she didn’t say anything else, he looked up from his work and met the Stormbringer’s softened gaze, “Believe what you will but neither I nor my husband pulled you out of that place so you could be alone.”  
Daniel didn’t know how to respond to that. It wasn’t like he’s spent these last eleven years of his life mostly alone. He had people. Hayley Marshall had been the closest thing to a mother as he’s ever known while the being he’d consider his father was a grumpy old Fae smith that taught Daniel a great many things. Even when he was with Haylay or Loan, Daniel felt alone. He was the Blood Mage, Last of his kind and Heir to Blood Magic. There wasn’t anyone like him on this planet.  
“Thank you.” he didn’t know what else to say. The Hunter’s body turned to ash as Daniel finished purifying it. He shook his hand. Solidifying the blood gauntlet and willing it to dust. He stepped away from what used to be the Hunter. He had known this would happen. That the Hunters would come. With one dead, two more would come. Two more would die. The process would repeat until enough died that the Order would send a Sentinel. By then he would be ready. He wasn’t sure how exactly but he would be.  
“Fair winds to you, Child of Shinar.” He’d called Sirin here to help him start but now the rest was up to him. He would have to do it alone. He turned to the older Verrigan. He walked up to her and they clasped arms like warriors of old. Her skin hummed with magic and small tongues of lightning arced from her arm to his. Daniel’s own magic mimicked hers. Red lighting went from Daniel to Sirin; who in turn just smiled at him.  
“Fair winds, Stormbringer and once again, thank you.” The Stormbringer smiled and walked away. Once again, Daniel was alone. He had a strange feeling. Almost a longing but not quite. He shook the feeling away and walked into the woods. The Wild washed over him. It was a somewhat new feeling he’s had almost no time to get used to it but there was something comforting about it.  
Daniel has lived in the Wild before but he didn’t feel it like he did now. All the way down to his bones, seeping into his soul. It brought a sense of peace that Daniel’s life has sorely lacked but with it came other dangers. The part of him that was the Beast hungered, it mixed and mingled with his bloodlust. An already dangerous urge doubled by something he didn’t know. Control was something that Daniel knew well and he could handle the Hunger. What he had trouble handling was how the Beast bled into other aspects of his life.  
Daniel wasn’t used to having his senses enhanced this much. He could always sense blood but he wasn’t used to hearing it pump in people’s veins. He could hear conversations several rooms over, he could smell things he still couldn’t understand. He could feel people walk by the vibration they make as they walk. Sometimes all of it overwhelmed him and it led to incidents where he accidentally threw the blonde twin through a wall. Daniel hadn’t meant to but by the time he realized what he was doing, he was already halfway through the motion. By then all he could do was dial back the force in which he threw her. Didn’t seem like a good enough excuse for the Headmaster but given that it was his daughter, Daniel nearly killed, the Blood Mage understood.  
Daniel liked the other twin, Josette. She was someone worth knowing. Circumstances at school had force Daniel together with her. After some stupidity on his part, they finally got started on the project the teacher wanted. Josette was exceedingly smart and she was able to put words to the processes he could not. His biggest problem here at school was that he perceived magic differently. For the witches here minus the twins and that Farie boy, they had to reach for the magic, drawing mostly on ambient elemental energies rather than their own, internal magic. Daniel had no need for such energies. His body produced and stored magic in such quantities that if he didn’t vent every so often, strange things happened.  
The forest broke and Daniel stepped into the clearing with his Forge. He kicked off his shoes and stalked across the grassy space. When Daniel decided to make his Forge this clearing had been mostly dirt and other wild growth. Now, the land was feeding on the excess magic that radiated from the Forge. Daniel pondered it. He’d have to put up some wards to keep the other witches from finding this place. If he did, he’d have to key the wards to Hope as she had this annoying habit of futzing with his magic even without trying to.  
The smooth stone of the Forge felt warm under his fingertips, almost alive. His family used to build towers like this. Infuse the very foundations with their magic and claim the land. Daniel sometimes felt that urge; to claim and rule but he was no conqueror. He had no desire to rule. Only to be left alone. Shaking off the foolish desires of a child, Daniel stepped away from the Forge and pulled off his shirt. The night was young and his was still twitchy from the Hunter. He now knew that he didn’t need his Beast to take on a Hunter. He needed to work off the adrenaline. Daniel fell into a neutral stance, silencing his thoughts, focusing his breath and calming his heart. His magic snapped out, filling the clearing.  
Daniel didn’t follow any real specific form of martial arts. His mentor, the woman who taught him the blade had created this kind of mixing pot of styles. All Daniel knew was how to fight. The specifics didn’t matter to him as they didn’t change anything for him. He knew what he was taught and knew how to shape it to his needs. There was a kind of peace to be found in the forms. Daniel felt grounded and he moved from strike to strike. The world faded to the end his fist and the ground beneath his feet. He didn’t know how much time passed as he moved and he didn’t care. Sleep came at a high price for him. He couldn’t shield himself when he was asleep and he had yet to make a place here at the school where he felt comfortable sleeping. It was something he had to fix soon but at the moment, he didn’t care.  
Finally Daniel came to a stop. His breath came in small pants as sweat drenched him. He left his Forge and headed to the lake. He stopped by a tree and placed his palm against the trunk. A thin line of blood wrapped around it. To thin to see but Daniel pushed it farther. The blood stretched from tree to tree until he had made a complete circuit. Once the circle was complete, Daniel sank his magic into it. A dark red, slightly translucent wall of pure energy snapped into place. It held for half a second before fading from sight. It would keep people out but he’d have to come back later and weave a few spells that would keep people from getting close.  
Daniel swam in the lake to cool off for a while. He pulled himself up and out on the pier. He currently sat at the edge watching the moon. It was here that his thoughts began to quiet down. His plan was solid. The Stormbringer had been correct. It had taken him nearly two months to lay the spell down that stripped the Hunter’s of their greatest advantage over him.  
Daniel’s magic rippled and he set his sword down across his lap. Not the blade forged in his mother’s blood. This one was made with no magic. Just him and the man Daniel called Father, using completely mundane material. The blade had some magic to it as it was impossible for beings like Daniel and Loan to make something without leaving the faint mark of their magic on it. The blade was almost alive in his hand. Loan’s doing while Daniel felt it hunger as a result of his own magic.  
Daniel sat there until the sun came up. Almost meditating but not quite. He just thought, letting them grow as seeds do in his mind. Trimming them as the grew in odd directs, deemed useless or dangerous. When he felt the first warmth of the Dawning Sun, Daniel stood up, resting his sword on his shoulder. He watched the rising sun and smiled. He’s done this since he was five. Always greeting the Dawn with a smile. Didn’t matter if he was bloody or broken. From battlefields to bedrooms, Daniel survived yet another day. He smiled wider then turned to go to school. Maybe, this wasn’t so bad after all.

Hope looked up as Dr. Saltzman walked up to her and Daniel. Together they sat by the one of the windows in the turret. Her back was resting against his chest as he read some tome in a language she couldn’t decipher while she read some cheesy romance mystery. The two of them had found a comfortable kind of balance. His arms wrapped around her, gently caging her in with his body. She didn’t mind. There was no safer place in the school than right here.  
Both of them felt the attraction they had for each other but Hope didn’t want to rick her friendship with him and Daniel...well Hope wasn’t sure what he thought about it but he seemed okay with what they were doing. In the almost three months Daniel has been attending this school, the shock about what he was and who he was calmed down. The vampires no longer tried to attack him and even some of them were making good progress to becoming his friend.  
Daniel turned the page of his tome and gave the outward appearance of not caring that the Headmaster was approaching but his magic slowly leaked out, spreading around them, forming a kind of invisible silken cocoon. It felt harmless but Hope knew better. She’s seen this trick before. He’d sharpen the threads that surrounded them and send them outward, shredding everything with strands of pure arcane energy. It was messy but effective. For some odd reason, the Blood Mage didn’t trust the Headmaster and Hope didn’t know why.  
“Daniel, do you know of a Wolf Jarl?” Daniel’s head snapped up from his book so hard that Hope felt his neck pop through his chest. She heard it too. Hope turned and chuckled at the blatant shock that had slapped his features.  
“Aye. Why? Has he contacted you?” Daniel asked in a way that sounded almost like a command but not quite. He was incredibly interested, Hope noted in her mind. She’d catch him alone later and grill him about it.  
“Yeah. He set me this saying I should give it to the Beast hidden in my walls.” Daniel snorted and caught whatever Dr. Saltzman tossed at her. Daniel brought it down so Hope could look at it as well. A large, coin like medallion with a skull of an even stranger creature imprinted onto the surface. The air around them chilled as Daniel growled, low and soft. Something about this object felt familiar. Like she’s seen it before.  
“What does it mean to you?” Dr. Saltzman asked. Daniel flipped it to find Nordic runes carved onto the surface of the dark metal. His voice shifted from the tenor to his true one, carrying the faintest hints of awe.  
“That Wolf is far more honorable than I originally thought. What else did he say?” Daniel ran his thumb over the surface of the medallion, over the runes.  
“That he was wondering how supernatural the school was.” Daniel chuckled softly and rested his face next to hers. His free arm wrapped around her mid section as he took a slow deep breath. Hope found herself doing exactly that when they were together. There was something about his scent that calmed her. He had that uniquely male scent mixed with the sharp tang of his magic mixed it was an almost metallic under tone. Like licking a quarter.  
“He’s wondering if this would be a good place to send his young. The Ulfhednar are an incredibly secretive race. It keeps them alive but it also limits their ability to adapt. Wolf is the first in almost three thousand years to wander out of their forest.”  
“You mean the wolf skin berserkers from Viking lore.” Dr. Saltzman asked. Daniel chuckled and shook his head.  
“The Ulfhednar are not those. They are...different. One of the original race of shifters. Dangerous when provoked but for the most part they want to be left alone. Smart, cunning. Capable of the lone hunt and as a pack. Solid fighters.”  
“How many do you know?” Hope asked. Daniel shrugged.  
“Just Wolf. As I said. He is the first to wander beyond the edges of their forest in thousands of years. Good man, married another Verrigan. Not surprising as most of practitioners of Old Magic tend to seek other like them. Still, why he chose the Stormbringer is beyond me.”  
“Stormbringer?” Hope asked.  
“Physical embodiment of the Storm, Queen of the Tempest, Lady of the Skies. Physically strong, mentally sharp. She is a Queen by rights and she has the power to hold her title.” Daniel snorted, “I pity whatever poor soul is stupid enough to challenge the Stormbringer thought I would like to watch.”  
“Why?” Dr. Saltzman asked.  
“I’m aware of two other Verrigans, Heirs like myself, though the Stormbringer has inherited her crown. Only her and Wolf. I know I can kill Wolf if I have too but the Stormbringer gives me pause.” Daniel said and Hope sighed. Even before he vanished when they were fifteen, Daniel sized everyone up. Despite her mother’s best efforts, New Orleans wasn’t the safest place for him. Unless he was with the wolves or in the Mikaelson compound, Daniel had this habit of this.  
“What does it mean?” the Headmaster gestured to the medallion. Hope once again felt the temperature drop except she had a feeling it wasn’t actually a physical change in the environment. It was something about him setting off more instinctual alarms.  
“It is the mark of a rather fanatical cult that is soon to be no more. This…is Wolf’s way of saying he is honoring the promise he made me several months ago. Soon, with luck, they will be no more.” There was a kind of savage pride in that statement and Hope had no doubt that Daniel would happily get involved if he wasn’t already. Hope knew that Daniel was a killer even before he changed but now it seemed like he enjoyed it.  
“I trust you remember the promise you made me.” Daniel nodded and tapped Hope’s leg. She looked at him and he motioned for her to move. She wiggled around so he could get up.  
“Aye. None have died by my hand on school ground.” Hope wondered if he said it like that because he was repeating the promise or because he hasn’t killed anyone on school ground yet. With him it was a good chance of the latter but Daniel has been...almost sociable. He hasn’t been in any fights. He and Josie seemed to be getting on swimmingly despite the fact that Lizzie at every opportunity made his life hell.  
“Off to go train with Josie?” Hope asked. Daniel nodded as he rolled his shoulders back. Once again, she heard his bones pop.  
“Why does it do that?” Hope asked and Daniel gave her an odd look. His eyes glowed dimly as his magic slowly folded back into him.  
“I have some incredible healing due to who I am and...other factors I cannae speak about just yet but there are things than even my healing can’t fix.” Daniel said. Hope narrowed her eyes. She knew the story behind every scar he had, even the ones in places he found uncomfortable. All except one.  
“Go easy of Jo.” Hope said. She’d find out what that story is. Except she’d do it the right way. Daniel would trust her with the story. One day.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope finds something out that she isn't sure what to do with while Daniel sets the stage further in his favor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone. Hope you all enjoy this chapter

Hope was sitting in the Turret watching Daniel. It was the day of annual football game between Mystic Falls and Salvatore and neither Hope nor Daniel was attending. Hope because she had no desire to join the idiocy and Daniel...broke all of them a couple month ago.

“I thought you didn’t need circles for magic.” Daniel sat in the middle of the most complicated circle she’s ever seen. He went through seven sticks of chalk to draw this monstrosity that spanned most of the room. He has been sitting in this circle for thirteen hours with a strange metal cube. His eyes have been burning a solid red for twelve of them and only for the past hour has his eyes simply been glowing. Sweat covered him and he was started to lose that mask of detached annoyance. His lips curled back and he was glaring at the strangle box. His magic was out but she couldn’t feel it. The circle some how locked him in. It was odd as Hope was used to feeling him at all hours. Even when he wasn’t using his magic, she could feel him.

“ _Liebling_ , I’m trying to create a self contained, self sustaining magical ignition source for a seven foot mace.” Oddly specific but Daniel didn’t do anything without a reason. She’s seen the seven foot mace. It was strange, spiky and he called her darling in German. 

“Why are you making it?” She asked. Daniel looked at her and something looked back at her. She’s noticed that on their runs. If she catches him at the right time, the mask slipped and something looked back at her.

“My father designed the weapon and he want’s me to use it on the and I’ll spare you the original Germanic but he would like me to kill people with it. Violently.” Hope has never met the man that Daniel calls father but Hope wasn’t sure she like him.

“Are you?”

“No. I’m going to stick it in the Armory under a mountain of containment and illusion spells because when the Dark Smith makes a weapon, it always ends badly for the party wielding and party wielded against. I stick to swords for a reason. Simpler.” Daniel in a nut shell. Instead of smashing something with a large metal stick, he’d stab it with a sharp metal stick. How such simple mindsets existed in such a cunning mind was beyond her. She’s seen Daniel in math class and in philosophy. He was wicked smart. This circle was proof. He’d drawn it freehand in the middle of the night and the complexity of it made her brain hurt. He was in the middle of making that has been recorded in history once as a death ray.

“I meant the Ignition Source. You’re making something that is hailed in history a weapon of mass destruction.” Daniel scoffed and faint runes began to glow on the cube. The metal surface fractured and collapsed until the four corners became four pillars and trapped between them was a miniature sun.

“Magic has no will of it’s own.” Daniel reached out with a hand and broke the circle. His magic crashed into her like a wave on the pier. He was tired, Hope noted. His magic either felt like a blade across her mind or a hurricane, “It is only when we, human, add our will to it does it react. It is why Dr. Saltzman’s argument on black magic is flawed. Modern magic is fueled by emotions as strong emotions produce a magic of their own.”

It was why Daniel could feel emotions. His ability to sense magic was on a level that couldn’t be described. It was why Lizzie never got the upper hand on him. He could feel it every time she tried something.

Daniel stood up, pulling his magic back. In the span of two breaths, Hope could barely feel it. It was there, coiled so tightly in his core that if Hope didn’t know any better, she’d say he didn’t have any magic. He walked over the Ignition Source as a completely unrealistic breeze blew by and the circle vanished as dust in the air. He held out a hand and the Source floated up into it.

“My answer remains the same. The Dark Smith made the mace with this in mind. I will follow his instruction and carry on with my life. Though, I need a shower first.” He did. The sleeveless shirt he was wearing was stuck to his chest, molding to the lines of his muscles. It softened the lines of his scars but only a fool would ignore the ones on his arms, hands and face. They talked all the way to his room where he shooed her away so he could take a shower.

Hope waited in the foyer for him, reading something her social studies class. She could hear the football game off in the distance and noted that most of the football players should be able to play. It was going to be interesting how they reacted to him. The last time the football team saw Daniel was when he put all of them in the hospital. Humans were not built to take on the Blood Mage and the Blood Mage was not built for high school.

“Remind me why throwing a poorly shaped ball of synthetic pig skin enjoyable?” Hope jumped in her seat. She hated when he did that, vanish from every sense than pop back up randomly. Daniel stood next to her chair in jeans and one of the long sleeved button up that the school gave him. Hope studied him. He looked almost normal. His hair was still damp from the shower and faint scent of sandalwood drifted over to her. 

Daniel normally smelled like magic and metal but now...he was trying hard to appear like something he wasn’t. Nothing was going to hid his eyes though. Even without the scar that run up from under his collar, his eyes held something that unnerved people. When they saw their reflection in their eyes, people didn’t see themselves. They saw obstacles to be removed.

“Remember the game we used to play with Keelin? In the Bayou?” 

“Wolf and the Fox? Aye.” Keelin does it to train those who just triggered their curse. Daniel joined in because he needed the skills to survive. Not that Keelin was the one to teach him those skills. Hope liked to play too since there was finally another human there and one her age.

“Remember how it taught teamwork, communication and endurance?” Daniel nodded. Hope made a gesture and the light dawned in his eyes. Than he looked in the direction of the game with his face screwed up in a strange expression.

“None of those boys are physically capably in a fight. The females are nice to look at but they put so much crap in their bodies that they are not viable for breeding, they are selfish, arrogant, not viable as leaders, they are fragile and dumb, worthless as warriors and scholars. Why even bother with them?” And there was the narrow world view that dictated his life. Survival was everything. If you couldn’t fight or come up with a reason for others to fight for you, you were worthless. Fun, love, happiness meant nothing to him or so he said.

Hope as seen him help people simply because they needed it. He makes things. Normally knives and other bladed goodies, but he made other things. Complicated constructs he then animated. He made a cat to hunt mice in the Mikaelson Compound once and it scared the hell out of a couple vampires. Daniel was a good man. He cared but he didn’t like to. His survival depended on his ability to be self sufficient yet he always came back. It wasn’t a need to have a family, though that was what Hope and her mother became to him. It might have been a respect for equals but Daniel could kill every single one of them. 

“Why did you always come back?” Daniel looked at her and Hope almost started to explain herself but stopped. Daniel was smart, intuitive and far sharper than he let on.

“You asked me too.” Hope didn’t remember that. Daniel sighed and crouched down next to her. His eyes lost some of that killer edge but not completely. The rough skin of his fingertips brushed against her check and his magic trickled into her. A memory surfaced. With startling detail. A five year old Hope and Daniel stood in the backyard of their old house. Daniel had threadbare clothes and a knife strapped to his thigh. The wild look in his eyes was all so apparent. His skin pale and drawn tight over his skin.

“Will you come back?” Her voice sounded so weird. Daniel looked at her and Hope could see the small dots where his fangs punctured his lips. Back then he liked to but his bottom lip over his fangs and bite down. Said the pain helped him think.

“Why would I?” he asked. Eyes burning yet confused. His eyes flicked towards the house. Probably her mother moving or something

“I would like you too.” Daniel looked at her and confusion along with disbelief. His magic snapped out and Hope remembered that. It was the first time she saw the full might of his magic. It held for a moment than it was gone.

“Then I shall.”

The memory faded and Hope found herself staring into Daniel’s eyes. His magic and hers wrapped around each other and she could feel what he was feeling. She only felt it for a moment before he pulled away. So much pain mixed with anger. Lonely tinged with an ice cold determination. Something lay at the center of all that but Hope didn’t have enough to figure out what it was.

Daniel stood up and sighed. Hope looked at him, surged to her feet and took the three steps to put her an inch away from him. He looked down at her and caught her wrist just as she started to throw a punch.

“If you wish to spar, I suggest a different locale.” Hope twisted her hand so she had his wrist. Taking a step back and dragging Daniel with her, Hope spun around, locking her other arm around his shoulder and sliding her leg between his. His chest pressed against her back and she threw Daniel over her. He had the audacity to laugh as she was mid throw.

Daniel landed on his back with a grunt. He rolled out of the way just as Hope’s heel slammed into the space his nose had been a moment before. He spun on his back, building up momentum, forcing Hope to jump back or lose her knee. Daniel jumped to his feet without using his hand, coming to a slow stop facing her.

“Am I the only reason you came back?” Hope asked.

“Did I need another?” Hope launched herself at him and they fought for what felt like hours. Hope wasn’t a push over. She trained with Dr. Saltzman every other day but nothing she did fazed the Blood Mage.

“You are my friend, Hope.” Daniel said as he ducked under a kick. He shied back with impossible grace and his palm gently hit her stomach, pushing her off balance, “You should know that by now.”

“This goes beyond friends.” They ended up on the ground as they grappled. Daniel expertly deflected all her blows.

“I wouldn’t know. You’re the only one I have. Friends are people who would bleed for you as you would them. Was Keelin lying to me?” Hope snarled at him and he snapped his fangs at her. Her Wolf woke up and something stirred in his eyes as a response. They moved and suddenly Daniel was on top with his fangs resting on her throat. Hope gripped his hair and wrenched his mouth from her neck. His eyes burned and an inhuman sound rumbled in his chest.

There was something that drew Hope to him as he was. The wild look in his eyes, feeling of his body on hers, of his magic nipping at her skin.

“Um, am I interrupting?” Both Hope and Daniel snapped their heads to find Emma standing in one of the arches, “Cause I can come back.”

Hope sighed as she sat up. Daniel was already gone. Her heart was pounding and her Wolf howled at the interruption. It was fine. There were only so many place Daniel could hide from her and she had absolutely no problem hunting the Blood Mage down.

Daniel stood up as he studied the design he’d drawn on the floor. Magic circles weren’t his forte and if he had found a way to do this without using one, he would have jumped on the chance. He tossed the tiny nub of chalk aside and stepped over the lines.

Leaning against the far wall was a mace. Seven and a half feet tall, made from a single chunk of metal. A foot from the top, the mace began to thicken until it resembled a baseball bat only wider...and longer, nine inches from the top the first ring of spike jutted out and every three inches until the top had a ring of spikes. It was a savage weapon meant to crush men and shatter bones.

Next to the mace was the one who made it. Loan Maclibuin was an old being. Not as old as King but definitely older than any being had a right to be. Back then, when magic wasn’t defined into Old or New, people lived for centuries and were capable of wonders. Then something happened that broke magic. Daniel didn’t know what it was and those he knew who did, wouldn’t tell him. It was fine. Not knowing would stop him.

Loan was ridiculously handsome. High cheekbones, a jaw meant to be carved into marble with golden blonde hair pulled back from his face by a metal clasp. He looked like some ancient king dressed in slacks and a blue button-up. He was also incredibly dangerous. One doesn’t get a title like the Dark Smith of Drontheim for being nice and homey.

“Had I known this was your plan, I wouldn’t have made the mace.” Daniel gripped the mace and looked at him.

“You would have made it anyway then stuffed it in some dusty corner of your castle.” Loan shrugged as Daniel walked back into the circle and touched the bottom of the mace to the center. Red sparks dashed along the lines of the circle and Daniel felt the slight pull on his magic. He held out his other hand and spoke a word. The space above his palm rippled and the Ignition Source popped into existence.

“ _Wunderschönen_ ” Loan muttered. Daniel ignored him as he floated the Source up to the top of the mace. Metal collapsed onto itself until a slot appeared. The Source slid it perfectly and the metal rebuilt itself. A tell tale magical whine started as runes burned onto the mace, twisting around the spikes and ran down the length of the weapon. Power punched through the circle and if Daniel had not already moved out of it, it would have thrown him out.

A pulse went through the room and Daniel tracked it with his mind. It spread from the School all the way from the edge of the Forest to the boundary that marked the town limits. It still left about five hundred acres of land unprotected but Daniel was already working on that. 

“How many showed up last time?” Loan asked.

“Eight.” The Order was starting to take notice. Daniel had left one of the Hunter’s bodies in a place he knew they’d find it. In the last several months, Daniel has made life for the Order hard. He finally started using the ever growing fortune his birth parents had left him and started taking apart all the businesses tied to the Order

“What about that wolf of yours and the Russian?” Daniel looked at the Dark Smith. Was he talking about Wolf and the Stormbringer? Neither of them belonged to him and nor would they ever. Still the underlying question still stood.

“Wolf is hunting the Cult of Beasts and the Stormbringer is doing whatever the hell pleases her. I own nor control either.” Daniel commented before closing his eyes and pulling his magic to him. Words tumbled from his lips. Old and powerful, under Daniel’s command, they shaped magic. The mace and the circle shimmered from sight as Daniel warped reality around them.

Once he was done, Daniel cut the magic and slumped against the wall next to his surrogate father who studied him with dark eyes. The Dark Smith wasn’t sure what to make of the man next to him as Daniel hasn’t been a boy in several years. The Dark Smith knew how Daniel looked at the world. The jaded lens in which he viewed everything. He made a good show, saying survival is everything and for the most part the Blood Mage wasn’t lying.

“What do you plan to do after?” Daniel looked up at his father and tilted his head, “After the Order is gone. I know the wolf’s kind, he won’t stop until those fanatics are dead and I know you since you were six, eating rabbits behind my house.”

“Castle.” Loan cocked an eyebrow at Daniel’s interruption, “It’s a castle. Walls, towers, whole shebang. It even has a moat, Dad. It’s a castle.” Loan waved the comment away. Daniel sighed and the mask fell away. Daniel had several personas that he wore depending on the situation. The survivalist, who cared nothing except for his own life, the Warrior who lived for bloodshed, the King, when he needed people to follow him and the Shadow for when he needed people to fear him. All fell away to reveal the Man. Loan sighed. Daniel glared at him. Daniel only ever showed what he really thought to his father. Mostly because the old Smith was the one who taught him how to be other people. 

“I plan to live, Father. No more of just surviving to see the next Morn. I want a life, fall in love, have friends without having to look over my shoulder constantly. Maybe a family if I find a girl worth settling down with.” Daniel explained in a tired voice. The shadows shivered and Loan didn’t have a chance before Daniel sprang across the room. His sword flashed. It was a beautiful slash. Executed with the bare minimum amount of movement. A strange, twisted creature fell from the shadows. Human once, flesh now bloodless and twisted to look like dough. Hollow pits for eyes and seven inch claws graced the creatures’ fingers.

“I thought the creation of Ghouls was a forbidden magic by the Order.” Loan walked over to the ghoul. Daniel flicked his blade sending droplets of foul, tainted blood flying. His eyes glared at the ghoul with a flat anger. No magic, just savage and raw fury.

“The Order is not so large that they can waste manpower. They have stables of ghouls just waited to be unleashed.” Loan nodded. It was logistics. Fighting Blood Mages was always a losing fight. There wasn’t an army on this planet that could face a family of them. The Order’s only advantage was for centuries the Blood of Shinar did not seek war. Only to live and be happy. Daniel was the same until the Cult. Now he breathed anger and spoke war. Things would not end will for the Order.

“How often?” the Dark Smith asked. He cared about this young man and he would not see him wage this war alone.

“Twice a day. Good exercise, and I’m using their blood to strength my wards against the Hunters.” Loan had felt it. There were currently three layers of magical protection, including the one one fueled by the Ignition Source. Daniel dismissed his sword and tossed the Ghoul back into the shadows. Loan shook his head and the Blood Mage shrugged.

“Fair winds, Father.” Daniel turned away and started out of the Armory. He needed sleep and hiding from Hope took a lot of energy. The woman had this uncanny ability to know where he was no matter what he did to hide himself.

“Fair winds, my Son.” The shadows bent and tore around the Dark Smith as he passed through them. Daniel paused at the doorway and looked back. He could see it as well as feel it. The Ignition Source burned and it would not be hidden. Time would tell if he made a mistake but till then, he had to go deal with a particularly annoying Wolf.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel unwinds with a friend for a night until Hope's rather unpleasant day interrupts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some underage drinking and somethings that could count as Triggers so here's my warning. Be safe and enjoy

“May I join you?” Daniel turned his head to look behind him. Wolf waited on the top of the room with a bottle in his hand. Daniel motioned to the empty spot next to him. The Ulfhedinn slid down to the Blood Mage. Daniel turned his attention back to the sky. A waning moon with bright stars lit the black night. The muggy air filled Daniel’s lungs as he sought the peace that so long eluded him.  
Wolf handed Daniel the bottle, who took it without question, at took a drink. He pulled back with a speculative look on his face as he tasted the alcohol. The sweetness of it surprised him but he felt only the slightest of burn. It reminded him of…  
“Peaches?” Daniel asked and Wolf nodded.  
“Aye. Found that I don’t actually like the fruit but I like the taste of it in my drinks.” Daniel nodded and took another drink. The two of them passed the bottle back and forth for some time. Neither needed to say much at the moment. Just looking at the sky, thinking deep thoughts.  
“Do they know?” Wolf asked after a while. Daniel looked at him and shook his head. He didn’t want them to know. The Beast wasn’t something one shares casually. He thought about telling Hope at one point but decided against it in the end. She had enough to deal with both emotionally and physically with the death of her parents and uncle. She didn’t need to know the specifics of what happened to him.  
“Daniel, I speak from experience when I say that holding it back will only make things worse in the long run.” Daniel knew Wolf gave solid advice but he wasn’t sure that it applied here. He was a Verrigan. The first this place has ever seen. He could make something completely nonsensical and get away with it, like time travel. All he had to do is put some effort into the ploy and they’d simply chalk it up to Old Magic.  
“I am uncertain of the effect that knowledge would have.” Daniel confessed, “The last people who learned of the Beast tried to make me one.” Wolf winced. Daniel was not the only one the Cult tried make controllable Beasts. Daniel was just the only one who proved so strong that he absorbed it. The others now lived with a Beast inside them, two beings one body. Daniel was now part Beast but the one stuck inside him was dead, dismantled and assimilated.  
“What about that wolf of yours?” Wolf asked with a sly smile. Daniel sighed. He knew this was coming. Wolf had been in town for a few days, away from the school while he conducted some business for Daniel. He’d most likely scented the paths Hope and Daniel use for their runs. Wolf didn’t know Hope, not yet anyways but once Wolf had a scent, he wouldn’t let it go until he knew who it belonged to. Daniel wasn’t sure he was ready for that. Once Wolf knew then Sirin would know and then Loan. Daniel did not need his father getting mixed up in whatever he and Hope were.  
“A friend.” Daniel said simply. Wolf tsked him and silver rolled over his irises. The Mark of the Wolf King. Wolf was a Verrigan like Daniel but his magic was older. Primal and powerful, Wolf was the kind of power that made even the Gods pause.  
“I could explain every reason why that statement is wrong but you are allowed your privacy.” Daniel looked at the older Heir. This was unexpected and more than a little suspicious. His magic shone in his eyes to match Wolf’s.  
“I will never be the one to tell you that you’re not allowed to live or love.” Wolf took a drink, a long one than passed it, “Look at me. I’m the next king of my people, the last Royal of my kind and I fell in love with Sirin. Can you see the Stormbringer in the Forest, sitting around the fire with all the young pups?”  
Daniel snorted as he took another drink. He could feel it starting to sink into his system. The world started to tilt slightly to the left and Daniel fought the urge to tilt right to compensate. He could barely see Sirin in any civil kind of situation.  
“Exactly. You may be odd to these people but if you find someone, explore it.” Daniel took another drink. He wasn’t sure he wanted this conversation to be happening but for the most part, Wolf gave good advice. The hard part was actually following through with it.  
“How did you and the Stormbringer meet?” Daniel asked suddenly curious. He wasn’t surprised he didn’t know but he was surprised, Loan hasn’t used it as an example yet.  
“Funny story actually.” Wolf said as Daniel passed him the bottle, “It was just before the Italian Renaissance, I was a mercenary, wandering the world. Ended up in an old growth forest in modern day Russia. I came afoul a rather nasty deity. I wasn’t doing poorly but it was certainly a hard fight as most fights with the Divine are.” Daniel nodded. He had his own scars from when he found a goddess. Divinity was hard to fight as one couldn’t really ever kill a god but only its manifestation on this plane of existence.  
“So, I’m fighting this god, in the old forest. Not a good place to fight a Slavic God, not a good place to fight anything Slavic,” Slavics, Nordic and Celtic all have unusual powers in the forests. That being said, Wolf was a being of the Forest and held unnatural sway over it. It was his home and his kingdom but for powers that old, location meant something as well. While Wolf was powerful in his own right, no matter where he was. A Slavic god on his home term was damn near a death sentence.  
“Then the crack of thunder. Deafening even to a man with no ears. I recovered to find her standing between me and one of the God’s children. A dragon by the name of Aspid. Fierce bastard. Anyway, I’m trying to shake the ringing in my ears, readying my sword and shield. In my head I was about to shift, go furry and perhaps die but no. Sirin, the Stormbringer, in this green dress. Reminded me of the Forest, not any forest but my Forest, where my people live. I have never seen a shade like it anywhere else in this world.” Wolf chuckled at the memory. Daniel had a similar memory except it was of his mentor and he was six.  
“I called out to her to move, run, that the dragon would eat her, all that jazz. She didn’t even turn to look at me. Just commented that wayward wolves don’t get to pick their saviors.” Daniel burst out laughing and didn’t even try to stop it. It felt good to laugh again. This place tested Daniel patience constantly. Between the vampires and that annoying blonde siphon, Daniel had to always pull his normal instinct to just kill them and be done with it. The only breaks he got were on his runs with Hope or at his Forge. Daniel laughed until his jaw began to ache.  
“Hurt my pride a bit to hear that but she is definitely worth it.” Daniel didn’t know the Stormbringer like Wolf did but she came when he needed her. Daniel owed her. One of the harshest lessons Daniel has ever had to learn was Loyalty begets Loyalty. Wolf saw Daniel as a young pup and his instincts drove him to protect Daniel but Sirin had no such instincts. Should she call, he’d come. It was the least he could do.  
“Tell me about your wolf. I’m curious.” Wolf asked as he passed the bottle back to Daniel, who raised it to check the amount left. Not all that much. Shame. Daniel liked this drink though he still wanted to tilt a bit to compensate for the feeling this drink gave him. Daniel slid his gaze over to Wolf who had another bottle in his hand smiling like an idiot. Daniel shook his head and downed the rest of the alcohol before tossing the bottle up in the air. Scarlet lighting crackled around Daniel for a brief second before it converged into a lance of pure magic the size of a pencil. He pierced the bottle and detonated his magic as an after thought. An orb of magic lit up the sky for a breath or two before fizzling out.  
“Before the Cult, she was a strange contradiction. Shy yet confident. Powerful yet lonely. I have met only one other like her and she’s the one being alive I call a friend. The only one who asked me to return. Over the years I came to see here as a friend and an equal. Not in power but in personality.”  
“After the Cult?” Wolf asked and Daniel bared his fangs. His fingers flexed like claws and his eyes burned a complete and utterly demonic shade of red. The silver in Wolf’s eyes sharpened as his hair turned white. At that moment, neither Daniel nor Wolf sat there. It was the Blood Mage, Heir to Shinar and the King of Wolves.  
“She suffered great losses because I was stuck in a stone cell.” Daniel wasn’t speaking English but Wolf understood him all the same, the rage was all to easy to interpret, “Her mother was mine as well and she lost both her parents to the idiocies of lesser beings. Now she is jaded, the girl I knew is gone and a cold, jaded person has replaced her.” Black crept into the edges of his eyes and Wolf lowered his head, fixing the Blood Mage with a predatory glare. The Blood Mage paid no attention to the Wolf King as he bared his fangs to the night.  
“I failed her once, Radulfr. I will not do so again.” Wolf blinked at the use of his real name. He even pronounced it correctly. Ra-Thool-fer. Interesting. The magic faded and Daniel returned holding out his hand for the bottle.  
“Does she know that you have feelings for her?” Daniel heaved a sigh. He no longer liked this conversation. He liked Hope, and maybe even more but he refused to even think about it. Hope deserved someone who could offer her all the luxuries in life, wealth family and security. Daniel could offer none of those things. He was hunted and would continue to be hunted until he took out the Order.  
“Not likely.” Wolf made disbelieving noise and Daniel snapped his teeth at his elder. They fell silent after that. Drinking and thinking. Until the winds brought on a new scent. As one, Wolf and Daniel raised their heads and took a long, slow breath through the nose. They both recognized the scent but only Daniel shot to his feet because of it.  
“It’s just blood. Nothing to get excited about...” Wolf fell silent as another scent blew on the wind. A harsh, decaying smell. Corruption and rot. Wolf was an old being. Primal in his existence. He knew what this was. This was wrong and every part of Wolf pushed him to seek it out and burn it down. Daniel knew for a different reason. For him this was fear, things in the dark that hunt him, anger and pain.  
“What is the Order doing here?” Wolf snarled. Daniel’s eyes shone with barely suppressed rage. His lips were curled back with fangs on full display. It wasn’t the scent of the Hunters that angered him. It was the blood. He knew the scent of everyone’s blood that went to this school and most of those in town. This blood belonged to someone extremely important to him.  
“I’ve killed a few of them.” Daniel growled then amended his statement, “A lot of them.”  
“Why?” Wolf got to his feet. He said the question slowly, to convey the warning it held.  
“Oh you know,” Daniel’s voice went casual as his eyes grew distant, “After the Cult made me a monster, figured I should settle down, find a nice lair, terrorize some travelers maybe even steal a virgin or two. I haven’t decided yet.” Magic crackled around him as blood tinted lightning while thin wisps of cold mist rose from his shoulders.  
“What are you a Dragon?” Wolf rolled his eyes.  
“The Proto-Dragon or an Elder? Because if its not an Elder, than no. I have no desire for treasure.” Wolf sighed. Elder Dragons were the most powerful beings to call this planet home. History can count on one hand how many times an Elder has walked this Earth.  
“Have fun.” Wolf sighed and waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. Daniel sprang from the roof. He would have fun. More fun than he’s had in a long, long time.

Hope was not happy. First her morning run with Daniel by a stranger who seemed to know Daniel. Second, she bombed her algebra test. She thought she had that. To make things worse when she went to the Cafe to get a smoothie, she ended up running through the woods being chased. A large group of people were chasing her. One managed catch up and stick a strange needle into her back as she ran. After that, Hope fought. Four guys were on the ground and one up in the tree, she was currently leaning against.  
She was looking up into the sky, at the moon. She let its light wash over her and push her worries down. Her Wolf was up tracking the others in the woods. Fifteen people slowly closed in on her but now it was a waiting game. She was on Salvatore property and bleeding. Wouldn’t take long for him to notice.  
A man, medium height, long hair, sharp eyes with a knife in his hand. Hope pushed off the tree and met him. Her body felt heavy and her healing was working slowly against it. She met him and was knocked on her ass but she dragged him down with her while sliding his knife into his gut. It wouldn’t kill him but a knife to the gut was never a nice thing to feel. Especially when she twisted and started sawing her way up to his ribs. The man cursed and Hope bared her teeth in a savage smile. The man looked at her and Hope snarled with her Wolf in her eyes. She angled the blade upwards and felt the blade pierce his heart. Finally. She pushed him off and struggled to her feet.  
“Come on, she’s just a girl.” One of the men called out. She looked directly at him even though her vision had gone wobbly. More men stepped from the shadows, into her fading sight. She shied to the right on pure instinct and felt something brush by her cheek. Fear punched through her and with it brought clarity. Her eyesight sharpened and sluggish feeling spreading through her body stalled. It wasn’t enough to push it back but enough for her to fall into a stance, ready for whatever came next.  
Next never happened as a strange sounded echoed through the forest. It wasn’t exactly a roar, a howl or a hiss but an unnatural combination of all three. It was a sound of pure menace. Of a predator spotting it’s prey. The Hunter’s looked around wildly, drawing an assortment of weapons. Hope flicked her wrist and the three hunters with guns fell with their necks bent at fatal angles. She stumbled back against the tree as a smile spread across her features.  
The sound persisted for a disturbingly long time, paused for a short time than rolled over them again. Hope’s Wolf settled as a thin mist slowly swirled around her. She looked to her left just as Daniel leapt out of the mist. His eyes burned a solid red with his fangs as a startling white. The Hunter he caught could make a sound as Daniel shook him once, snapping his neck. All the Hunters spun to look at him as he held a dead man in his mouth like a dog, drinking deep.  
Hope cocked her head, intrigued. She’s never seen Daniel drink blood before. He’s torn it out of people but he’s always been very careful about not actually drinking it. After a few seconds, Daniel opened his mouth and the dried up corpse of a man fell out. Unlike vampires whose feeding was a real messy business, Daniel didn’t let a single drop go to waste. Only his teeth were stained red as he turned his gaze to the other Hunters.  
“Rejoice, Fanatics.” Daniel’s voice rolled over them. Charged with magic, malice and the promise of death. All the Hunters visibly cringed and Hope fought a smile. Daniel’s true voice was blood chilling. The Child, Man and Elder all at once with something else. Something ethereal and wrong lay deeper in his voice.  
“For your Purpose, the Reason of your existence stands before you and I bring my swift and merciless justice.” Daniel proclaimed, oddly formal. Magic filled the forest. It was sharp, dangerous, alive and violent. He stood there, focused yet some how retaining a relaxed stance. Hope often thought of Daniel as a jungle cat by the fluid grace in which he moved and the casual, slightly apathetic world view he had but now...now he was a dragon, woken from its slumber and regarding the band of foolish adventurers that have stumbled into his lair. Wrath, old and terrible shown through the lenses of mild annoyance.  
Daniel exploded into motion. Blood snapped over his hand and arms, forming a kind of clawed gauntlet. There was at least fifty feet between him and his intended target. He ran forward, the mist moved unnaturally, swallowing him whole. The mists spit him out behind a different Hunter. Steel silver claws flashed. The Hunter fell and again, Daniel stepped back into the Mist. There was a sparse economy in his movement. Even when one of the Hunters proved more skilled than the others, Daniel fought with this cold precision that gave the impression that he didn’t see the Hunters as people. Just obstacles to be removed.  
Hope watched him end a few more Hunters before they got their act together. Hope didn’t see the details of what happened as her sight started to do that wobbly thing again. They managed to pull Daniel from the mists and surround him. Hope felt what they did, it was revolting and she was struck with the desire make it stop by any means necessary.  
She felt clearly what happened after that. It wasn’t Daniel’s magic. She wasn’t sure it was magic at all. Something shifted in the way the forest felt. It was a presence of sorts; not exactly sentient but it was aware of sort. Something extremely powerful was taking notice and Hope didn’t like it.  
A warm feeling washed over Hope as Daniel knelt down in front of her. He looked at her and Hope saw worry in his eyes. Other emotions dashed over his iris. Fear, confusion, desperation and anger. He said something but it sounded garbled to her. The anger sharped and her Wolf sat up. There was something oddly possessive in his eyes. Daniel said something again as he brought her right up up to his mouth. He smiled at her. A dazzling smile that promised both the moon and danger. Any woman between the ages of fifteen and thirty would have been affected by it. Fortunately, Hope was drugged so she could resist the effects of having Daniel smile at her. He kissed the inside of her wrist and held up one finger. Where did his claws go? Ah. It was slightly disturbing to watch the blood stretch over his finger then turn silver to make claws.  
Daniel stood up and turned to face the Hunters. Hope felt Daniel’s magic wash over her, fighting the sluggish feeling. Hope watched him. He met the Hunters and what ensued took her breath away. Hope didn’t share her father’s joy and inclination for violence but when Daniel did it, it was almost an art. Every action flowed into the next. Every blow he blocked lead to a counter and he only countered once. Hope counted the seconds and it took him eight to kill eleven Hunters. He stood, surrounded by the mutilated corpses of the Hunters.  
Daniel came back to her, looked her in the eye and sighed, “Blood of War.” His voice, hidden with only a slight undercurrent of power, sounded sad, “How the Order got her blood is beyond me.” Hope tilted her head and looked at him. He had a speck of Hunter blood on his cheek. She raised her hand to wipe it off. Daniel caught her wrist and magic seeped into her skin from the direct contact.  
“I...” Hope tried to speak but Daniel shook his head. Hope tried to convey something but her mouth didn’t want to work. She made him break his promise to Dr. Saltzman. She had known as they chased her onto the school that Daniel would come. She knew that he’d kill them all and that he valued his word highly. When Daniel made a promise he kept it. For him to break his promise, Daniel had to compromise something he valued highly.  
Daniel kiss the inside of her wrist again and this time, she saw his fangs scrap against her skin just before they slid in. Magic and ecstasy burned through her veins. Hope arced at the sudden sensation shift and unable to deal; Hope did the only thing she could. She passed out.


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope arrive home to deliver a message to Daniel while he strikes back at those who attacked his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys. So here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy.

Hope walked into the Mikaelson Compound to find the most interesting sight she’s seen all day. Her aunts, Freya and Rebekah, with Keelin and Vincent doing yoga while Daniel and Marcel wrestled behind them. Hope rolled her eyes as she set her bag down and sat down on one of the couches. Marcel put Daniel in a head lock that lasted a single breath as the Blood Mage rolled into it, bringing the most powerful vampire with him. She watched Daniel’s powerful muscles flex as he put Marcel in a judo arm lock. Marcel’s eyes glowed red and Daniel’s matched. She could feel his magic brimming under his skin.  
“Daniel.” Freya warned and the light in his eyes dimmed. Marcel tapped out and they broke apart.  
“Good fight. You’re getting better.” Marcel said as they shook hands. It was a ridiculous comparison, Marcel, tall, powerfully built and imposing while Daniel was average height, leaner and scarred. People looked at Marcel and smiled as he looked like a handsome gentleman. They looked at Daniel and fled as in his eyes they saw their death. Daniel saw her and her next breath was crushed out of her as his arms wrapped around him. He took a deep breath and let her go, backing away, looking almost embarrassed.  
“You live. Good. Why are you here?” Hope reached up and flicked his forehead which resulting in him baring his fangs at her than something else lingered in his eyes. Relief? Joy? Hope couldn’t tell. Freya rolled her eyes behind him and Keelin hid a smirk. Those two knew something. Aunt Rebekah looked confused and Marcel shrugged.  
“I’m here to tell you that Dr. Saltzman has looked over the circumstances of last week and decided that your actions were justified. You will be allowed back at the school starting Monday and Lizzie would like to apologize.” She wasn’t awake when this happened but according to just about everyone, as Daniel had rushed to and fro trying to save her life, Lizzie told him that with her gone she’d finally have a chance. She saw the marks of his wrath on the walls. Lizzie was alive though every bone in her legs were broken and slowly healing.  
“She is not forgiven.” Daniel said. His voice cold and unforgiving. The look in his eyes was murder. Josie was the only reason Lizzie was still alive yet even then she couldn’t curb much of Daniel’s anger. Though if she was being honest, Hope was surprised Josie got anywhere. Daniel was slow to true anger but once he was there it is damn near impossible to calm him down until the one who pissed him off is dead.  
“Good.” Hope said before reaching into her pocket and tossing something at him. He caught the large, dark medallion and looked at it. A cruel smile stretched his lips, baring wicked fangs. He looked almost inhuman, “Want to explain that to me? Oh and if I don’t like your answer, I’m going to beat it out of you.”  
Daniel looked at her for a moment, an eyebrow cocked and his free hand curled like claws. Something sparked around him. Magic, invisible and powerful, rippled around him. It writhed around him like a nest of snakes, focusing on her. Something came alive in his eyes. It made her Wolf perk up. She held his gaze until he sighed and his magic was tucked away.  
“Allow me to shower and we’ll walk the Quarter. It’s been ages.” Like that he was gone. Hope turned her head, same as Keelin, just in time for the door to the showers to close. She hated when he did that but she knew why. There was someone here he didn’t trust. Probably Marcel. Daniel didn’t like vampires. Never has.  
“So, how is school?” Freya asked. Hope looked at her and tried to convey everything in that look. Daniel’s hearing was better than he let on and Penelope would kill to know everything he knows. Hope knew he was cunning and ruthless but she never really appreciated it until he started using it against those at school.  
“Odd. Daniel seems...happy. What is he planning?” Freya sighed and Keelin chuckled. Daniel didn’t do happy. Apathetic mostly, amused sometimes. Happy? No. Daniel didn’t do silly emotions like that.  
“Your boy is planning war.” Marcel said. Hope knew that. Hope would help him if she thought she’d be of use. She may be related to one of the most cruel beings history has ever seen but Daniel wasn’t planning anything cruel. Just the total and systematic annihilation of his enemies fueled by a kind of rage she didn’t know Daniel had the ability to feel.  
“More like genocide.” Keelin said, “What happened?” It wasn’t really questioning but Hope took it as one. She explained it. Slowly watching her family display different types of anger. Marcel had this quiet, calm type of anger that kinda scared her. Freya looked offended with a side of murder. Keelin was pure murder. Vincent was the kind of resigned angry; this wasn’t new to him. Rebekah was mild murder. Like she might stop for tea before shedding blood. The hairs on the back of her neck rose and Hope fought the urge to track the feeling. Poor Keelin. Hope was used it it to some degree. Still didn’t feel right and has jerked her awake more than once. Daniel didn’t do much sleeping so he spent most nights running in the woods. Eventually Daniel came out wearing a pair of dark blue jeans, his favorite pair of worn combat boots and a black, short sleeve, button up shirt that molded to his lean frame, emphasizing his corded muscles and helped smother the coiled promise of violence. He looked...human; like an absurdly fit young business man on a casual Friday. Hope knew Daniel was handsome but at this very moment...he looked good.  
“What?” Daniel asked. He looked down at himself, searching for something wrong or out of place. Not that he’d be able to tell. Daniel was odd about fashion. Which really meant he wanted to wear a sleeveless shirt, cargo pants and combat boots all the time. It was quite funny to watch him try and figure out the minutes of clothing.  
“Nothing. You just look...normal.” Annoyance slashed across his eyes and his fang gleamed as he bared them at her. There he was. She rolled her eyes and said her goodbyes. New Orleans was cold but that didn't stop people from milling about. There weren't many tourists about but Hope still spotted a few.  
“Where did you get the clothes?” Hope asked as soon as they left the compound. Daniel looked down at himself again and bared his fangs. It was a muted expression to only the barest hint of teeth were exposed. They were out in public and while New Orleans was a great many strange and wonderful things, a red eyed boy with fangs would draw too much attention for his liking.  
“Your aunt Rebekah, who is no longer a vampire and requires explanation, is more stubborn than I gave her credit. I fear your wardrobe is now more full than before. Something I didn’t know was possible.” Hope smacked his arm. She wasn’t that bad. She had one dresser and one closet. She knew people with far more close than her and she was far better than Daniel who just uses one pair of a single outfit all the time.  
“Enjoying the city?” Hope asked. New Orleans wasn’t the safest place for him and while Daniel was well known for protecting himself with extreme prejudice Hope remembers her mom having to personally deliver warnings. Which didn’t work as much as it did as Werewolves get the warning fairly quickly but vampires...were stubborn.  
“Declan still cooks, Freya still worries, Keelin still mothers and everyone is in some state of inebriation. The only thing missing is...” Daniel’s face didn’t fall but more like settled into his mask of apathy. Oh no. Something inside Hope clenched. Daniel wasn’t stupid; he had to know. She wasn’t ready for this.  
“A bacon cheeseburger.” Hope stopped and looked at Daniel, who in turn was looking at her. His eyes glowed dimly and on corner of his mouth twitched ever so slightly upwards. She sighed. He knew but he wouldn’t ask. It made her feel better and worse at the time.  
“Bacon cheeseburger then you explain the coin.” He bared his fangs in a savage grin. The expression lasted an instant but it was feral, dangerous, exciting and made Hope feel things she wasn’t ready to feel.  
“Deal.”

Daniel waited in the middle of the village. He wasn’t sure of the modern term for this small settlement but he was enjoying the symmetry of it. The entire place as a giant magic circle. It both protected and hid this place. To those without talent, its just another town or village. To anyone who can feel magic. It’s a death trap. It had taken him years to figure out why the Hunter’s Marks worked so well against him and this place further confirmed his findings. A Hunter’s Mark was to serve as a well. Storing magic as they came across it. It was a modern take on how those with Old Magic could produce and store large amounts of arcane energy. Unlike Verrigans, the Hunters used their stolen magic to augment their physical abilities. This town was that but on a larger scale. If Daniel hadn’t prepared properly, he’d be feeling rather tired right now.  
His plan had went off without a hitch despite him being forced to move it faster than he felt comfortable with. Daniel hadn’t expected be allowed back into school; especially since he nearly killed the Headmaster’s daughter. Annoying little twit. It had been awhile since he consumed blood and the frenzy it always induced had fueled him as he tore the Hunter’s apart but it also frayed his control. It also didn’t help that he nearly killed himself purifying the poison from Hope’s body. The Blood of War killed everyone who hasn’t survived it before. Which laid a unique conundrum for Daniel. He had to pull Hope’s blood out, drop by drop, burn the poison out with his own blood than return hers without binding it to his. Honestly he still wished Josette hadn’t convinced him to spare Elizabeth's life.  
Daniel looked up as trio of Hunter’s raced into the park where he waited. He spared a glance to inferno that devoured everything outside the asphalt ring that marked the center of the village. He’d placed nine pillars around this place, just outside the edge of the village and stole the Hunter’s greatest advantage over him. Then he killed them all. From infant to elder, when Daniel’s magic descended, all who couldn’t resist, simply ceased.  
Daniel has killed children before, normally when his survival called for it but it never sat will with him. If he could have avoided it he would have. Yet the Order would turn such efforts against him. Daniel has seen when a child of the Order didn’t get further tampering. They went wild, died or turned into blood crazed monsters. Mercy was a weakness the Order wanted to exploit.  
Magic snapped out of him and the two followers dropped. Screams filled the air as their Marks began to burn themselves out of the Hunter who Daniel was after and while their deaths would be painful, they’d have the slight mercy of it being quick. The Sentinel however was a different story. He’s dealt with them twice. Once shortly after his birth parents, Daniel ran into one and learn quickly to avoid them. Sentinels were practitioners of Old Magic except unlike Daniel who was born with the ability they force their bodies to unnatural lengths to gain the power.  
“When we learned that a Blood Mage had been hiding under our nose, I wanted to laugh.” The Sentinel said. A woman. Daniel wondered if that was on purpose. The other two were women as well. Was it a culture thing or do to the fact that women are better mages than men? Hm, he better not tell Elizabeth that. Then he’d have to kill her.  
“Surprising. Given the monstrous thing you do here.” Daniel stood up and pulled his sword out of the ground. It wasn’t his normal one. This one was one forged in his family’s blood. He received it the first time he went to the Garden. A gift from his ancestors. People he never wanted to see again. The ruby blade was thirty five inches long with another for a handle. Wrapped in some kind of leather that seemed shaped for his hands. He liked this one better than the one he made with his father. This one seemed to...he couldn’t place it...speak to him.  
“Do you know your family’s history?” Magic, strange and foreign, smashed into Daniel. He shrugged it off. He was mentored in combat both magical and physical by a Goddess of War. This Sentinel was powerful, he’ll give her that but she was no Bellona.  
“The last time my family was written in history was Leonidas and he saved the known from the Persian.” Daniel knew his family history better than any living person. Mostly because in the Garden, he had heard a first had account from all of them. Daniel’s blood brought many gifts. Longevity, power, regeneration among others. However there was a downside to it. Daniel was bound to this world. When he died, all that he was; his magic, his mind, his soul would go to the Garden. By Blood and Bone.  
“You know nothing.” Daniel rolled his eyes as he started forward. Magic hit him again and he let it roll off him. The third time awoke the part of him that wasn’t human. Daniel let the Beast rise and spill out into his eyes. On the very edge of his conscious, he felt others take notice. Unlike the others, the ones who suffered with him, he didn’t often let this power show.  
“Rejoice, Fanatic.” Daniel said, every word saturated with magic and anger, “For your Purpose is here.” The last time he said this was a spur of the moment thing that came about because Hope was dying and he had no idea how to fix it. Fortunately it was genius and Daniel really liked it.  
“Well that’s a bit arrogant.” Daniel shrugged.  
“Is it arrogance if it is truth?” Daniel shied out of the way as a throwing knife shot by him. Good technique, a bit rough on the throw but overall a good throw. The Sentinel produced a double headed war axe and Daniel suppressed a laugh. Axes were a raiding weapon and unless she was far stronger than he was, his sword would win.  
The Sentinel blurred and Daniel caught her weapon. She was strong. Maybe there was some validity to her choice. They struggled for a bit until magic detonated between them. He hit the ground and rolled to his feet. That wasn’t him and judging by the shocked expression of the Sentinel, it wasn’t her either. Why was her axe still in his hand?  
“Seriously? What kind of warrior lets go of their weapon?” Daniel was so very offended. Lighting arced around him, tinged a deeper red, colored by his anger. Magic detonated again except this time, he was ready. He caught the magic, wrapped it in his own and crushed it. He looked up and to the left. Someone, it took him a second to recognized one of the hunters that came with the Sentinel, was busy reloading a crossbow. Interesting. Arcane bolts were easy enough to make but to use them required more skill than he normally attested to the Order.  
The axe whirled through the air and the Hunter hit the ground twice, tumbling off the roof. Daniel stepped back, out of the Sentinel’s reach. He reacted instinctively, flicking his blade. The red metal widened her mouth. Magic sewed the wound shut and the Sentinel reared back. Blood of Shinar. Nasty thing. Her healing has sealed his blood into her body and the Blood of Shinar was a jealous, hungry thing. It is one of the most dangerous substances in the world.  
“You know,” Daniel started as he stepped back and rested his blade on his shoulder. His magic stretched out, sinking into the earth and raising a small pedestal for him to sit on, “I had no intention of doing this for centuries. My war against you was going to be long, slow and painful for you.” He stuck his sword in the ground. Magic crackled over his skin  
“In the last week, I have killed your Record Keepers, your Vault Guards and your Breeders. This is the last stronghold the Order has in North America. All that’s left for you to do is let go of the ghouls.”  
“You would...release those monsters unto the world?” the Sentinel cried out. Daniel could feel his blood burning through her.  
“The only reason those abominations have persisted into this era is because your Order kept that idiotic ritual. You had every chance to be rid of it yet how many swarm the tunnels beneath us?” Daniel knew the answer. Seventy two thousand six hundred and twenty two. “Better question, where did you find so many to sacrifices? Are they the children who failed?” Daniel would have a massive problem is it was.  
Something slashed across his mind and Daniel bared a fang filled smile. This is what he was waiting for. The Sentinel stood up, veins visibly darker and her eyes were a strange milky color. Daniel winced. She wasn’t having a good time and her suffering only brought Daniel a small amount of pleasure but it would end soon enough.  
“We will do anything to protect this world.” Daniel looked at her. Even with his blood killing her, she still spouted her bullshit. He looked beyond her, past the ground. He felt them all, like sparks on his mind. Ghouls were a strange phenomenon; definitely not living but not exactly dead. Created in a fit of anger by one of his ancestors. Useful as cannon fodder but a mental connection has to be maintained at all times to keep their bloodlust in check. Daniel was adept many things but the mental branch of magic wasn’t his strong suit. He could control one maybe two. A few thousand? The strain would tear his mind apart.  
“Protect it from hell.” The first ghoul never made it to the surface. This was dark and dangerous magic. The kind of magic that drew attention. Attention of a very dangerous pair of people. Daniel preferred to do things like this alone but Loyalty begets Loyalty. Lighting flashed and Thunder crashed followed by a wolf’s howl. Daniel rolled his eyes. Those two always did like a bit flair.  
Blades of lighting struck the ground as the ghouls broke through, turning them to ash. Daniel took to the side as Wolf appeared next to him. Dressed in jeans in a shirt with a thick fur cloak over his shoulders. His white pure white and his eyes a shining silver. An inhuman expression of disgust. A large axe was gripped in his hand.  
Daniel didn’t like axes. Mostly because he grew up with blades and his mentor never really taught him how to use them. He was well aware of Wolf’s skill with the axe and knew it to be impressive. The Ulfhednar were some of the best warriors history has ever seen. They won their Forest fair and square. It also helped that anyone who has ever been dumb enough to try and take it has died a rather gruesome death.  
“She’s having fun.” Daniel commented as he raised another stone for Wolf to sit on. Wolf cast a grin up to the stormless sky lit by tongues of lightning. It was to far for his eyes to see but he could feel her magic. Primal and elemental. The power of the Stormbringer shone in his mind like a brilliant star filled with murderous intent.  
“She hasn’t let loose like this since World War 2.” Daniel chuckled. He knew the feeling. Magic like theirs was constantly growing and if left unchecked, grew into strange things. It has to be clipped every so often. Daniel was young and his magic was young. He needed to clip it far more often than an immortal force like the Stormbringer.  
“What is her deal?” Both of them watched as the Sentinel weaved through the lightning with incredible ease despite being on death’s door.  
“She is somehow still believing that her Order is the one protecting the world.” the ground next to them shivered. The two of them moved in tandem. Daniel speared his sword through the creature’s head and Wolf snatched the lightning out of the sky before it struck Daniel.  
The lighting stopped. Daniel freed his blade as Sirin touched down next to Wolf. She gently took the lightning from her husband’s hand and tossed it away. Sirin, dressed in slacks, a light blue blouse and a thin over coat. Her blueish silver hair whipped in the wind and her startling blue eyes shone with all the intensity of a tempest.  
“Dearest, how many time have I told you not to do that?” Daniel didn’t listen to the banter between the two of them. Free of the lightning, the Sentinel was drawing the remaining ghouls to her. He started towards her. The Stormbringer has taken care of many ghouls but the horde that remained was a problem. He crossed the distance between him and his enemy was ready for him. Something was off.  
His Blood was gone. The Blood of Shinar no longer burned in her body. Interesting. There was no cure and the only way to survive it is...Daniel chuckled. Such a clever girl. The Sentinel pulled a blade out of nowhere and they clashed. Something sparked in Daniel. It was fear. Daniel was afraid. He was afraid of dying and every fight brought that chance.  
The world sharpened to a painful clarity. He would not die today. Old lessons rose, instincts and memories sharpened by years of training and hardened by even more experience. The movements that flowed through his body required no thought.  
“Your name.” Daniel spat out in the middle of his rapid fire thoughts. Daniel has held conversations while fighting before but once again he was reminded that Sentinels earn their title. Neither seemed to get the upper hand. Line of pain and fire marred his body as her sword made it through his guard.  
“Sera.” words were not spoken after that. Daniel grunted as Sera’s blade slid into his shoulder. Between his clavicle and ribs. He snarled and kicked at her knee. She jumped back and Daniel touched his wound. His fingers came back red. He’d been stabbed and knew he had to be bleeding yet he checked anyway. Daniel Verrigan, apex of human evolution. Sera didn’t give him much longer to marvel at his own stupidity. She was getting faster, healing the damage his blood did. His blood flowed over him. Everything went silent as he slid deeper into his training. Letting instinct guide him. His blade became a wall of red metal. Every motion flowed into the next and he set the pace. Sentinel Sera was good. Daniel could not and would not deny that. Whomever trains the Hunters was on par or even better than his mentor. When the fight came, Daniel only hoped he’d survive.  
Eventually she slipped up. Over extended on a counter thrust. Daniel was halfway through the motion before he realized what he did. He neatly slid her onto his blade. He felt the muscles of her heart pop. Oddly enough Daniel felt no joy. No relief. Just one less thing to do in the long run. Gently laying Sera down. She was dead. Unfortunately her brain hadn’t caught up to that fact so the least he could do was let her know she wasn’t alone.  
“That was a mercy she did not deserve.” Sirin said behind him. Daniel shook his head. Mercy wasn’t a thing one could deserve or be worthy of. Mercy was the balance of the soul. To him it didn’t matter that Sera was his enemy. To die alone was almost as bad as living alone. He would not inflict that fate on anyone. Wolf laid a hand on Daniel’s shoulder.  
“They attacked the closest thing I have to a heart. They needed to die but I will not sacrifice that which makes me me to do so. Besides, we’re not done.” Daniel said. Thousands of ghouls were burrowing their way to the surface right now and with how close they were to New Orleans...well Daniel had a good reason not to let a single one of these abominations live. He let go of his sword and it never touched the ground. He didn’t worry. It was safe, waiting for him to call for it again. His blood armor rippled. He couldn’t take the shape but recalling its form was as simple as breathing for him. Claws made from a pearly silver metal grew from his fingers as pushed the Beast to the surface.  
“A race.” The Stormbringer proposed and Daniel looked at her. Lightning crackled around her and Wolf had a grin on his face that belied his not so human nature. Daniel nodded and Sirin smiled. A dense light sheathed her body and she was gone. Wolf raised his head and howled. Daniel did the same and let out his own hunting call. For the first time this entire night, Daniel felt like he might actually have some fun.

Hope jerked awake. Thunder shook the walls and a cold wind gusted into her room. She got out of bed and walked out onto her balcony. Daniel wasn’t on the pile of blankets they laid down for him. Not surprising as he told her he had something to do before they went back to school tomorrow. He hadn’t been looking forward to it but there was an anger in his eyes. It lingered on the edge and Hope feared she was the cause of it.  
Looking out over the Quarter, Hope missed him. She missed how her mom and Daniel used to engage in these staring contests whenever they argued, which was every time they were near each other. She missed how he had an answer for everything; even if the answer was the stupidest thing she’s ever heard. This feeling gnawed at her and she didn’t like it.  
The winds shifted and with it brought a unique scent. She turned to find Daniel sitting on the railing, watching her. His clothes were torn and dozens of cuts slowly healed before her eyes. He also smelled like blood, fire and death. Relief flooded through her. He was alive. She had this fear that his stubbornness would get him killed one day and that terrified her yet seeing him like this. Fresh from the fight with the battle still simmering in his eyes set her heart racing. He was that particularly kind of relaxed that belied the ability to explode into action.  
Hope realized that they had been just staring at each other in complete silence when a cold breeze cut her down to the bone. Daniel shifted and moved from the rail to directly in front of her. He radiated barely contained magic. It washed over her, sending teasing spark over her skin. His eyes burned brighter than the stars and his lips trembled, baring the slightest hint of fang.  
“How was it?” She said, slightly out of breath. He was too close. She could see the individual layers of skin repair themselves yet despite how disturbing that was, once she looked into his eyes, she couldn’t look away. She knew he was taller than her but now that she wasn’t wearing any kind of heels, he all but towered over her and when he leaned down, anticipation zinged through her.  
“Over.” Good. Hope forced herself to step back. Taking his hand, she led him into her room. His magic spilled out, filling the room with the full maelstrom that was him. The doors quietly shut themselves and she parked him onto one of her stools.  
“Off.” She said. His eyebrow twitched and a slow, dangerous smile curved his lips. Red sparks crackled and arced over him. They caught the edges of his shirt and devoured it until his bare chest, which Hope did her best to avoid looking at for too long. No need to give Daniel any ideas. She pulled out a small traveling chest and set it on the dresser. Opening it, Hope began picking out some herbs. She knew how to make a salve that would speed his recovery.  
The hairs on the back of her neck rose just before she felt arms wrap around her. Daniel hid his face into the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply. Hope leaned into him and sighed. He was alive and safe. With her, Hope knew Daniel was in no and was no danger.  
“You okay?” Hope asked. Gently stroking his soft hair, Hope sank deeper into his embrace. She could stay like this forever.  
“It was a hard fight.” She paused. There were slight, barely perceptible, tremors running through him. She tried to turn but his arms tightened around her. It was a gently hold yet Hope knew she couldn’t move. Now that wouldn’t do. She reached up and gently pried his arms open. He didn’t fight her. She turned around as Daniel stood straight. His face was as emotionless as stone but his eyes shone and tears slid down his face.  
This always disturbed Hope. Daniel always cried in silence and never with anyone to see him still there wasn’t much she could do. He would never tell her until he was ready. The only thing she could do was be there for him. Taking his hand once more, she led him to her bed where they stayed until Hope drifted off. Wrapped up in his heat and arms, safe from the world and all the things that waited for her tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also this is the first chapter where I wrote a fight scene from Daniel's perspective. I wouldn't mind hearing thoughts about it.


End file.
